How to make the apple strudel from Inglourious Basterds

In one of the most chilling scenes in Inglourious Basterds, we see poor Melanie Laurent try and protect her identity from the villainous Christoph Waltz in an unassuming bistro in France.

While the sequence is uncomfortably tense, it also contains one of the most distractingly delicious desserts ever to grace the screen. Surely Waltz can't be too evil if he's allowing Laurent to indulge in a hot slice of apple strudel covered in whipped cream?

If you'd like to create your own at home, without the fear of persecution, we spoke to Dave Watts, head chef at the Cotswold House Hotel, who gave us his perfect strudel recipe.

Feeds 8

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Equipment:

Vegetable peeler

Knife

Chopping board

Large baking tray

2 Large bowls

Pastry brush

Large pan with lid

Weighing scales

Spoon

Food processor

Ingredients:

1 x 250g Filo pastry pack

100g Unsalted butter (melted)

4 Large Bramley apples (about 800g once peeled and deseeded)

100g Pecan nuts

1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg

Three slices of white bread

80g Demerara Sugar

80g Light brown muscavado sugar

100g Sultanas

Pinch of salt

6 tbsp Dark rum

Icing sugar for dusting

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Peel, core and finely slice the apples. Place the large pan with lid on a high heat, add the apples, sugar, salt, sultanas and spices. Cook for 8-10 minutes stirring occasionally.

Once the apples have started to break down around the edges, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, place the nuts and bread on an oven tray and toast for 6 minutes, turning the bread half way through. When toasted place in a food processor and pulse a couple of times (until you have chunks the size of large porridge oats). Once the apples have cooled, combine with the chopped nuts and bread, add the rum.

You will need 8 sheets of filo pastry, the melted butter and the pastry brush to hand.

Place the first sheet of filo pastry length ways away from you and brush liberally with melted butter. Next, take another sheet of filo pastry and overlap on to the first by three fingers. Brush with butter and sprinkle the pastry with 2 tsp of Demerara sugar. Repeat this process with the other filo pastry sheets. Butter the second layer, butter and sugar the third layer, and then only butter the fourth layer.

Take the apple mix (filling) and spoon onto the edge nearest you, leaving a three finger gap between the edge of the pastry and the filling on all three sides.

Fold the flap of pastry nearest you over the filling, brush with butter and fold in both sides, brush again with butter. Start to roll the pastry and filling away from you, brushing the pastry with butter as you go.

Once rolled, carefully place the Strudel onto a buttered, large baking tray. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar and place in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Hans Landa gets pretty excited about the cream in this scene, and he’s right, it makes all the difference. Remove from the oven, sprinkle liberally with icing sugar and serve warm with whipped cream for that authentic Inglourious Basterds look. Ice cream or good old English clotted cream work just as well.

Dave Watts is head chef at the Cotswold House Hotel. Rooms start from just £120 per person, with main courses at The Cotswold Grill ranging from £9.50 to £23.00. The Dining Room (fine dining restaurant) reopened in May. For further information, hotel and restaurant reservations, visit www.cotswoldhouse.com or call 01386 840330.